Now that Mats has had a game to warm up, we should see him a little closer the 'real thing' tonight in his second pre-season game.

Canucks host the Blues who own the cellar in the west. Will this be a case of the new Canucks beating an opponent that they should? Or will the old Canucks rear their ugly heads and drop 2 points to an inferior team? After starting .500 in their first 20 games, the Blues are 6-12-1 in their last 19 - still, they have the 6th best PP in the league so once again, the Canucks need to refrain from taking needless penalties.

I'm guessing we'll the hot goalie play tonight and the team hopefully will give him the W he's deserved in past games.

I think him and Wellwood will work well together, but we'll see. I don't like Raymond with that line though. Think we need a guy to go get the puck instead of Raymond who's fast but keeps his head down and gets pushed into the boards, falls down, or gives it away. Send him back to the Moose.

Got to be tough for the Blues coaching staff. Coaching against a team with 3 scoring lines.... Stay outta the penalty box and this one should be in the bag.. Other than Power Play Blues are overmatched bigtime. Sundin line gives Sedin's and Kesler line an easier job.. They aren't the ones the Blues will be targeting.. Even if Labarb gives average goaltending ...

God.... do the Canucks suck? Maybe the worst game of the season.. Should of been the opposite.. Some days being a Canucks fan is lousy ... today is one of them 6-4 beating by the worst team in the conference.

Mikodat wrote:... today is one of them 6-4 beating by the worst team in the conference.

Right but that means not so much. Hey the Blues also get paid for playing hockey and if you don't take a team serious they let you feel it. They may be the worst in the standings statistically but they can play, that's obvious.

So do we pay the Canucks for not playing hockey tonight???? Sad when the best line on the Canucks is the 4th line.. at +1... and the 2 best players are both Dmen... Mitchell and believe it or not Obrien.. Rest of the team should be charged with robbery by fraudulently imitating hockey players...

Second, that penalty on Sundin for "slashing" was baloney. I realize it is an automatic call, but it is obvious that it wasn't much more than a tap. If you carry around a toothpick of a stick and someone touches it and it explodes, is it still a penalty ?

Third, LaBarbara could work on rebound control. (I am not blaming this result on him and he has done very well, but even in the wins his rebound control wasn't all that good). If you give up enough juicy rebounds, eventually it will cost you.

Fourth, it is nice to have Ryan Johnson back. The guy breaks his foot and finger, comes back and the first thing he does is go out there and block more shots. If everyone wanted to do what it takes to win like Johnson, Kesler, Burrows (and a few others) this team would be fine.

Fifth, some pretty serious mental lapses on D by Bieksa and Mitchell (and a few forwards). If you give up 6 goals, you're not going to win a lot of games.

Sixth, Nycholat can't make that pass for the first (or was it the second ?) Blues goal. Probably explains why he played 6 minutes. On the other hand, about 3 other Canucks could have neutralized that mistake and they didn't.

Seventh, Hansen played better, and was noticeable. His two penalties were borderline (IMO) and he was at least going to the difficult spots which resulted in the Burrows goal.

Eighth, Sundin is getting better but still has a ways to go.

Ninth, I didn't watch the whole game, so my analysis may be somewhat off...

Mikodat wrote:... today is one of them 6-4 beating by the worst team in the conference.

Right but that means not so much. Hey the Blues also get paid for playing hockey and if you don't take a team serious they let you feel it. They may be the worst in the standings statistically but they can play, that's obvious.

I can barely stand this. How many times have we lost to the Blues in the last three years? Bile keeps coming up everytime I think about it. The Canucks can not keep giving away the easier points and expect to remain in the hunt. Screw the Sharks game; points lost to the team that is likely to be the conference winner are not all that relevant unless you hope to win it yourself. Bah.